FAQ

Mike DeVries Discussion Board

Starting a tattoo studio tips and advice.

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on starting a tattoo studio. I'm looking into investing money into a building of some sort and was just wondering if anyone has any advice on starting a studio with a smaller budget. And maybe this topic can help others as well.

I have a few topics that I was hoping to get info for and maybe some of you could help out and expand my thought process on the whole idea. There's not to much on google that I have found about the smaller things that go into a studio. Mainly just licensing and staying in bounds with the health department is all I've came across. So hopefully someone has decent ideas and could maybe spark my brain!

(Studio size and space) : I remember Mike D. saying in his book that after some time of when he started tattooing he built a studio next to his home? Or something along those lines. (Mike how big was this studio and is this still your main area you work in?) I was needing to kind of figure a size out of what I might need for just me and maybe another artist later on. Just a starter building to get me going. How many rooms does anyone recommend I should have ? I understand I have to follow health department rules and regulations as well. I wanna maintain my budget to keep it as low as possible without limiting quality.

(Merchandising in the Studio) : What kind of merchandise sells great? Tattoo healing products, clothing, prints of my artwork, etc... Any ideas and names of great products to help turn a profit?

(Buildings in general) : Anyone have any suggestions on buildings that can bought and turned into to a studio. Something along the lines of a small barber shop type. Maybe storage buildings of some sort. Any companies that make great building like these? I've seen some nice licensed garages on the internet that you would never know it was a garage. Not looking to do that but you get my drift...